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Supreme Court turns down Schwarzenegger's challenge to prisoner release
The U.S. Supreme Court said today it won’t stop a lower court order to reduce overcrowding in California prisons.
The core issue is adequate medical care for inmates in California’s 33 state prisons.
A trio of federal judges said overcrowding was to blame for poor care and ordered the state to release 40,000 prisoners.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger challenged that order, saying the judges didn’t have the authority to demand the early release of inmates. The Supreme Court declined to intervene.
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While waiting for the high court ruling, the Schwarzenegger administration came up with an interim proposal to reduce overcrowding. It included home detention, reduced sentences for nonviolent crimes, and shipping prisoners out of state. In Tuesday’s decision, the high court suggested it expects another legal appeal from California on the governor’s interim proposal.
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